1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for transmitting captured image data to external devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been technology for displaying face data and personal information utilizing face recognition (identification) technology, which includes comparing captured image data with characteristic points of pre-registered face data to perform face recognition (identification), and registering personal information, such as a person's name, a telephone number, and an electronic mail (e-mail) address, as a pair with the face data.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-28077, a piece of face data and an address are stored in advance in combination. Characteristic data acquired from captured image data is compared with the characteristic face data recorded in advance, and the matching rate is converted into a numeric value. Then, if the converted numeric value exceeds a predetermined threshold, which means a match with a high degree of accuracy, the address data associated with the characteristic data is selected as a communication destination. Then, the selected address of the communication destination and associated thumbnail data are displayed on a liquid crystal display. Further, even in cases where two pieces of characteristic data do not match each other with a high degree of accuracy, a plurality of pieces of characteristic data having a high matching rate is extracted. Then, the address data associated with the extracted characteristic data and personal names (first names, surnames, etc.) are formed into a list for display on the liquid crystal display. Further, if the number of displays of personal names is large, all of the displays may be displayed via scrolling.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-165822, personal information for a person and information relating to person recognition of the person are recorded in advance. Then, the person recognition is performed on a captured image based on the information relating to the person recognition, which has been recorded in advance. As a result of the recognition, if any one of the persons recorded in advance is recognized in the captured image, the personal information of that person is read and displayed. Further, within the captured image, the personal information is superimposed so that such information does not overlap the main portion of the person image.
However, although Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-28077 discusses displaying the candidates in a list, the transmission destination information (face image data) and the image to be transmitted cannot be simultaneously confirmed. Thus, the reconfirmation of the image to be transmitted requires a user's operation, which is inconvenient. Further, this technology also has a drawback that the possibility of sending an unnecessary image is increased.
Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-165822, personal information is only displayed on the captured image. Thus, the confirmation of the registered face image data requires a user's operation, which is inconvenient. In addition, displaying the personal information where it does not overlap the main portion of the person image may make it impossible to confirm the images of other persons. Further, since the personal information is displayed based on the recognition result, the incorrect personal information may be displayed due to the low recognition accuracy. If communication is started based on that information, there is a possibility of communicating with a wrong person.